Hunsdon Junior Mixed and Infant School

HUNSDON PRIMARY SCHOOL

Inspection number: 192326 Full inspection carried out under Section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 This report may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that all extracts quoted are reproduced verbatim without adaptation and on condition that the source and date thereof are stated.

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HUNSDON PRIMARY SCHOOL

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. Hunsdon Primary School i

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: High Street Hunsdon Herts

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The governing body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mrs Caroline Karsten

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: February 1997 Hunsdon Primary School ii

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Aspect responsibilities

19824 Mrs Janet Sinclair Registered inspector Mathematics; History; Foundation stage curriculum; Equal opportunities. The school’s results and achievements; How well are pupils taught? How well is the school led and managed?

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Aspect responsibilities

17315 Mr David Holroyd Lay inspector Pupils’ attitudes behaviour and personal development; How well does the school care for its pupils? How well does the school work in partnership with parents? 19026 Mr Brian Downes Team inspector Science; Information and communication technology; Religious education; Geography; Special educational needs. How good are curricular and other opportunities?

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Aspect responsibilities

10053 Mrs Janet Simms Team inspector English; Art and design, Music; Physical education; Design and technology. Hunsdon Primary School iii The inspection contractor was:

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Aspect responsibilities

Westminster Educational Consultants Old Garden House The Lanterns Bridge Lane London SW11 3AD

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Aspect responsibilities

Any concerns or complaints about the inspection or the report should be raised with the inspection contractor. Complaints that are not satisfactorily resolved by the contractor should be raised with OFSTED by writing to:

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Aspect responsibilities

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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Aspect responsibilities

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Hunsdon Primary School iv

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 1

Information about the school How good the school is What the school does well What could be improved How the school has improved since its last inspection Standards Pupils’ attitudes and values Teaching and learning Other aspects of the school How well the school is led and managed Parents’ and carers’ views of the school

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HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 5

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

The school is a small primary school for boys and girls of four to eleven years of age. There are ninety-six pupils on roll, of whom eight four-year olds are part-time (these children attend school from the term after their fourth birthday and are deemed ‘early entry’). The school draws most of its pupils from Hunsdon and the surrounding villages. Pupils come from a wide range of backgrounds; and levels of attainment on entry are average overall. Most children have pre-school experience, mostly through attendance at the playgroup attached to the school. Pupil mobility is low, with few pupils joining or leaving the school other than at the usual times. Nineteen per cent of pupils have special educational needs, which is below the national average of twenty three per cent. The school does not have any pupils with a statement of special educational needs, which is below average. Currently, fourteen per cent

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

of pupils are entitled to free school meals, which is slightly below the national average of eighteen per cent. The school has few pupils from ethnic minorities and does not have any pupils who speak English as an additional language; this is a lower proportion than in most schools.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This is a good, improving school, which has significant strengths. The headteacher and almost all teaching staff now in place have been appointed in the last year, after a time of major staff changes. The new headteacher has very effectively created a whole school team committed to providing high quality education for the pupils and effective links with the community. Pupils enter the school with average levels of attainment. They are taught well and make good progress Expenditure per pupil is average for a small school. The school provides good value for money.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

• Pupils attain high standards in English, mathematics and science, and they achieve well. • Teaching is very good in Key Stage 2, and this promotes very good standards. • The leadership of the new headteacher is very good, and this is having a significant effect on the ethos of the school and its role in the community. • Relationships are very good throughout the school and are helping pupils to achieve well. • Provision for pupils’ moral and social development is a strength of the school.

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

• Standards and provision for information and communication technology (ICT) at both key stages. • Aspects of provision in the foundation stage. • Assessment in ICT. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan. Hunsdon Primary School 2

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school was last inspected in February 1997, but only one member of the teaching staff and one governor remains from that time. The headteacher, who was fairly new at the time of the last inspection, has also left.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The action plan to address the key issues was satisfactory, and governors fulfilled their statutory duties. Schemes of work are now in place for all subjects, policies are regularly updated, and the school’s aims have recently been rewritten. Standards in English and mathematics have risen well and there are at least satisfactory resources for all subjects. ICT is the only subject in which standards have deteriorated since the previous inspection. Teaching has improved and is now good. In so far as comparisons can be made, the school has made a good improvement since the last inspection.

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STANDARDS

Only seven pupils took the national tests for 11 year olds in English and mathematics in the Year 2000, which is too small a number to make valid comparisons with national averages. However, over the three-year period 1998 to 2000, pupils aged 11 attained standards well above the national average in mathematics and science and above average in English. The trend in the school’s results for all core subjects is above the national trend.

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STANDARDS

Children enter the school with average levels of attainment. Inspection evidence shows that pupils aged seven attain above expectations in English, mathematics, science and art. They attain in line with expectations in all other subjects except ICT, where attainment is below expectations. By the age of 11, pupils attain well above expectations in English, mathematics and science, above expectations in art, music and geography, and in line with expectations in all other subjects except ICT, where attainment is below expectations. Between the ages of five and seven, pupils achieve well in English, mathematics, science, and art, and satisfactorily in almost all other subjects. Between the ages of seven and eleven, pupils achieve well in English, mathematics, science, music, art, and geography, and satisfactorily in almost all other subjects. Achievement in ICT is unsatisfactory for all pupils. There was insufficient evidence

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STANDARDS

to make a judgement on standards in physical education at age seven or eleven, or standards in music at age seven. Children in the foundation stage achieve satisfactorily across the areas of learning apart from aspects of writing and the scientific aspect of knowledge and understanding of the world, where their achievement is unsatisfactory. Pupils with special educational needs make progress similar to that of their peers. The school sets realistic targets for literacy and numeracy, which it currently exceeds. Hunsdon Primary School 3

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Pupils have good attitudes to school. They enjoy their work and are well motivated to learn. Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Behaviour is very good, and many examples of considerate and sensitive behaviour were seen during the inspection. Personal development and relationships Relationships are very good across the school. Staff provide good role models and this helps to create the school’s good learning environment. Provision for personal development is good. Attendance Attendance is good. Pupils are punctual and keen to start work.

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Aspect Comment

The procedures for promoting good behaviour are good, and as a result the school is a calm and purposeful working environment. The procedures for monitoring and improving attendance are good.

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Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 years aged 5-7 years aged 7-11 years

Good Satisfactory Satisfactory Very good Inspectors make judgements about teaching in the range: excellent; very good; good; satisfactory; unsatisfactory; poor; very poor. ‘Satisfactory’ means that the teaching is adequate and strengths outweigh weaknesses.

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Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 years aged 5-7 years aged 7-11 years

The quality of teaching is good overall. Of the teaching seen, twenty four per cent was very good, forty per cent good, and thirty six per cent satisfactory. Almost all of the very good teaching was seen in Key Stage 2. Teaching across the rest of the school varies between very good and satisfactory, but is satisfactory overall.

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Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 years aged 5-7 years aged 7-11 years

Teaching is good in English across the school. It is very good in mathematics for pupils aged seven to eleven and satisfactory for pupils aged five to seven. Teachers’ planning is very detailed, clearly identifies activities for pupils of differing prior attainment, and caters well for the differing age groups in each class. Work is based on guidance for the national strategies, ensuring that pupils’ skills are developed in a progressive manner, and this helps them make good gains in their learning. Teachers have good subject knowledge, manage pupils well and make good use of resources. The classroom assistants employed to help in the Year 2/3 and the Year 4/5/6 classes make a significant contribution to the good quality of teaching in these classes. Overall, pupils make good and sometimes very good gains in their learning, enjoy their work, and develop good literacy and numeracy skills.

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Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 years aged 5-7 years aged 7-11 years

In the good and very good lessons teachers’ planning is very thorough, lessons are conducted at a cracking pace, activities are purposeful and challenging, and the teachers have good relationships with the pupils. In these lessons pupils work very hard, put a good amount of intellectual and physical effort into their work, and tackle tasks with enthusiasm. In some lessons, however, the work is not always well matched to children’s prior attainment. The lessons are slow and ponderous, and good use is not always made of demonstration and explanation to develop pupils’ knowledge and skills further. In these lessons pupils do not Hunsdon Primary School 4 always make the gains of which they are capable and sometimes lack enthusiasm for tasks. Through effective use of support staff, and a good match of work to pupils’ needs, the school ensures that pupils with special educational needs (SEN) are fully integrated and make gains in

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Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 years aged 5-7 years aged 7-11 years

their learning in line with those of their peers.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Curricular provision is unsatisfactory because the school does not meet statutory requirements in respect of provision for information and communication technology (ICT). Otherwise the curriculum is broad and balanced. Provision for extra curricular activities is good, and there are very good links with the community. Provision for pupils with special educational needs Provision is good and pupils make good progress.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Provision for social and moral development is very good, and a strength of the school. Provision for spiritual and cultural development is satisfactory but the school does not provide enough opportunities for pupils to develop their wider cultural awareness. How well the school cares for its pupils There is good provision for pupils’ welfare within a caring and supportive environment. Procedures for monitoring pupils’ academic performance in English, mathematics and science are good and are well used. Procedures are unsatisfactory in ICT, and although there are some procedures in place for the foundation subjects they are not always used effectively to plan work to match pupils’ differing learning needs.

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Aspect Comment

The school has developed very good links with the community and the community supports the school well. The school is now developing a good partnership with parents; they are pleased with the level of consultation on issues relevant to them and the warm welcome they receive in school. Hunsdon Primary School 5

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff Good overall. The new headteacher is providing very good leadership through a clear identification of priorities. As most staff are new they have had limited opportunity to develop their management roles, but they are committed to doing so through a clear identification of priorities for their subjects. How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities The governors fulfil their responsibilities well. They are very enthusiastic and committed to supporting and enhancing the work of the school. They have carried out their duties in a very professional manner to manage the many issues caused by significant changes to the teaching staff. The school’s evaluation of its performance Good. The new headteacher has identified areas for improvement, and she and her staff have worked together well on these. Although monitoring of teaching is in the early stages, it is

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Aspect Comment

being conducted in a clear and focused way which should secure improvement. The strategic use of resources The school has adequate resources, which it uses well to promote learning. Financial planning is good and effectively supports the school’s priorities for development.

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Aspect Comment

The school has a good level of staffing for the number of pupils on roll. However, as most of the teaching staff are new they have had limited opportunity to develop their roles as subject managers, though they have done well in the short time available. There is currently an inequitable distribution of subject responsibilities, which the new headteacher is in the process of addressing. The accommodation is satisfactory overall, and it has grounds of a good size and a fenced-off area for the foundation stage pupils. The school hall is also of a good size. However, the open plan nature of the lower end of the school means that occasionally the noise from each of the two classes can distract the other. The school’s library is well resourced and there are a good number of computers in place. The school applies the principles of best value satisfactorily.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• Their children like school and are making good progress. • The school is well managed and teaching is good • They feel comfortable about approaching the school with problems • The school expects their children to work hard. • The range of activities provided for pupils outside lessons.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The inspection team agrees with the positive views expressed by parents. In terms of what parents would like to see improved, the team found that the school provides a good range of activities outside lessons for all age groups. Hunsdon Primary School 6

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1. Since the last inspection the school has successfully raised standards in English, mathematics, science and art at both key stages, and geography at age 11. In all other subjects standards have been maintained, except in information and communication and technology (ICT), where they have deteriorated at both key stages. The school has experienced a high level of turbulence as a result of staff changes in the very recent past, and this inevitably has an effect on standards. Only one member of the current teaching staff was involved in the last inspection. It is therefore to the credit of all that, apart from ICT, standards have been raised or maintained.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2. The results of assessments when children start school show that attainment on entry, although wide ranging, is average overall. Inspection evidence shows that most children will attain the national Early Learning Goals in all areas of learning by the end of the reception year, except in some aspects of communication, language and literacy, and knowledge and understanding of the world. There is not enough focus on children developing their skills as independent writers, and few are willing to write sentences on their own. They do not use writing as part of their play activities and show a general reluctance to write in most situations, even though their knowledge of sounds and letters is good. In the scientific aspect of knowledge and understanding of the world, the work is often conceptually too difficult for their level of understanding and is much more appropriate for children in Year 2, for example

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

the study of the water cycle, the life cycle of the frog, and work on sound related to levels of water in jars. Children make satisfactory progress in all other aspects of the areas of learning. Provision for personal, social and emotional development is satisfactory. Children develop good levels of concentration and are interested in their learning. They engage well in independent activity and co-operate well with one another. They enjoy books and understand that text carries meaning. The children have a good knowledge of letters and sounds and use this well to help them read their reading books. They can write their names, and most have a bank of known words they can write, though they are reluctant to put them together to write sentences. They are confident in using numbers to twenty and many can add and subtract simple numbers.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

3. The significance of comparative test results, or teacher assessments, as measures of school performance depend on the number of pupils in a year group. Given the relatively small number of pupils in a year group in the school, too much emphasis should not be placed on any one-year’s test results. Generally, fewer than ten pupils take the national tests at age 11. A better indicator of performance is attainment over a three-year period. This shows that pupils’ attainment at age seven is rising in reading and mathematics and is above average. It has remained average in writing. Attainment has remained well above average in mathematics and in science at age 11. Attainment in English has fluctuated, but has been at least average. This is good achievement for all pupils. Compared to schools in a similar context, the school is doing very well. Hunsdon Primary School 7 4. Inspection evidence shows that at the age of seven, pupils’ standards are above

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

average in English, mathematics and science. They are at the expected level in all other subjects except ICT, where attainment is below expectations. No judgement could be made on attainment in music and physical education by the age of seven, as not enough lessons were seen. Attainment by the age of 11 is well above average in English, mathematics and science. It is above average in geography, art and music. In all other subjects it is in line with national expectations, except ICT, where it is below them. No overall judgement could be made in respect of standards in physical education.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

5. Standards in speaking and listening are good across the school, and pupils are achieving well in relation to their prior attainment. Pupils are confident to speak in a wide range of contexts and use a range of appropriate vocabulary. They listen well to their teachers and to one another. Good use is made of speaking and listening across the curriculum, and this helps improve pupils’ skills. Standards in reading are good across the school and they are sometimes very good in the Year 4/5/6 class. Pupils are keen to talk about the books they have read and their favourite authors. Most are familiar with the use of contents, index and, as they get older, the glossary as an aid to obtaining information. Pupils are achieving well because reading is thoroughly taught, there are regular assessments, and very good records are kept of pupils’ progress. Standards in writing are good for pupils aged seven. By the time

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

pupils are 11 their technical skills and written content are very good. Pupils develop their writing skills through writing in different genres, such as letter writing, poetry and diaries. This improvement in writing is due to an increased focus on improving pupils’ writing skills across the school. Handwriting is generally good and work is well presented.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

6. Standards are above average in mathematics at age seven and well above average by eleven. By the time they are seven, pupils calculate well and solve problems by using their knowledge of addition and subtraction. They achieve well as a result of the thorough planning and the good focus on numeracy skills in lessons. Pupils aged 11 have a good grasp of all four rules of number, and they have acquired an effective range of strategies for solving problems such as those involving prime numbers. They work with numbers to two decimal points and have a good understanding of probability. Higher attaining pupils enjoy the mathematical challenges set by their teacher and this ensures they achieve well and are fully stretched.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

7. Standards in science are above average at age seven and well above average by eleven. Pupils in Year 2 describe simple electrical circuits and are able to explain the life cycle of the frog. They have a good scientific vocabulary and carry out investigations such as those to find out the requirements for healthy plant growth. By the time they are 11, pupils can give detailed explanations of how oxygen is transported around the body and understand the concept of oxygen debt. They design and set up their own experiments and describe the most important factors in ensuring that their tests are fair. Pupils are challenged well and make good progress.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

8. Standards in ICT are below average across the school, because although pupils are developing a good level of competency in some aspects of the subject the curriculum is not fully covered. Pupils have limited experience of using simulations or controlling devices. Pupils do not achieve well, owing to a lack of direct teaching of the subject and a lack of opportunities to use their skills in ICT across the curriculum. Hunsdon Primary School 8 9. Standards in all other subjects are at the expected level, except in art, where they are above average, and in geography, where they are above average at age 11. There was not enough evidence to make a judgement on standards in music at age seven or standards in physical education across the school.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

10. Pupils with special educational needs achieve good standards overall in relation to their prior attainment. Standards are satisfactory, rather than good, at age seven, and very good at age eleven. In general, pupils with special educational needs make good progress towards their individual targets. This is especially so where their targets involve improvements in behaviour.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

11. Literacy and numeracy skills are used well across the curriculum; for example through writing in history and writing up experiments and taking measurements in science.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

12. The previous report found positive attitudes, attentive listening and good concentration, but there were also pupils who did not always take a pride in their work. This situation has improved. Pupils now have very good attitudes to school and behave very well. Pupils with special educational needs show good attitudes to work and behave very well in lessons and around the school. There is now very good attentiveness in lessons, which represents an improvement upon the position at the time of the previous inspection.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

13. Children have good attitudes to school and to their learning. A high proportion (94 per cent) of parents, indicated in their response to the questionnaire and at the parents’ meeting that their children like coming to school. Pupils are happy to be in school and they play an often enthusiastic part in their lessons. Good examples were seen in a mathematics lesson in the Year 1/2 class where pupils were keen to explain how they had reached the correct answer. Similarly in a Year 4/5/6 physical education lesson, pupils were attentive and responsive to whistles and commands from the teacher. Pupils enjoy taking part and show a keen response to the school. An example was seen in a Year 2/3 mathematics lesson. Here children responded enthusiastically and talked about their division task. However they always waited to be asked to contribute in the closing session.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

14. Pupils are motivated to achieve well in lessons and challenging and lively teaching, which grasps their interest and encourages them to think for themselves, nurtures this enthusiasm. Examples of this were seen throughout the school. In most lessons, pupils tackle tasks enthusiastically. This often has a positive influence upon the work of others in the class.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

15. Pupils’ behaviour is very good around the school. Behaviour in lessons is good and usually very good. Any lapses in behaviour are handled well. An example was a disruptive child in a school assembly who was brought back swiftly to the lesson by relevant questioning from the headteacher. Hunsdon Primary School 9 16. Relationships between children, and between children and adults, are good. Children are often very supportive of one another. Good examples of this were seen in the dining room at lunchtime. Here good grouping of pupils of different ages ensured good attention to lunch - time conventions and provided an orderly dispersal to the playground.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

17. Pupils are keen to carry out tasks and, when given the opportunity, they behave sensibly and take their responsibility seriously. There is a good range of opportunities for exercising personal responsibility in the school. These include allocated jobs such as returning registers, clearing items away, acting as monitors for school assemblies, and all personal collection and clearing in the dining hall.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

18. Great importance is placed upon the very good ‘Wall of Achievement’, where individual work is celebrated. The school encourages good respect for individual feelings, values and beliefs. The close relationships reinforce this respect and help pupils obtain a good understanding of the impact of their actions on others. Examples of these were seen in the whole school assembly and at play and lunch times. Further examples are to be seen in the very high quality of displays, where great respect and pride is shown for the work of others. The organisation of the lunchtime play session provides children with a good range of activities and play opportunities.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

19. Attendance levels have improved since the last inspection. They are good and are above the national average. There were very few children seen to arrive late to school in the mornings, and a scrutiny of the school’s attendance registers revealed that this is a small-scale problem. The school emphasises that pupils who are late may not benefit from the very good use made of registration times, and thus miss out on a useful and purposeful start to the school day. There have not been any exclusions in the last academic year.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

20. The quality of teaching is good overall. Of the teaching seen, twenty four per cent was very good, forty per cent good and thirty six per cent satisfactory. Teaching is very good overall for pupils aged seven to eleven and varies between satisfactory and very good across the rest of the school, but is satisfactory overall. This is a good improvement on the previous inspection report when, although teaching was satisfactory, higher expectations and the development of pupils’ initiative and independence were identified as key issues. However, the value of any comparisons is limited as only one member of the original teaching staff remains.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

21. Teaching is satisfactory overall in the foundation stage, though aspects of the teaching of communication, language and literacy, and knowledge and understanding of the world, are unsatisfactory. Teachers do not ensure that children develop as independent writers, as there is not enough emphasis on writing for a variety of purposes or for engaging in free writing within play activities. In the scientific aspects of knowledge and understanding of the world, much of the work is unsuitable; for example a study of the water cycle and the life cycle of the frog. Planning is detailed for all areas of learning. and there is appropriate provision and activities for the early entry children, who are supported well by the nursery nurse. The classroom is well organised and managed and children are generally engaged in productive activity. Teachers use the numeracy strategy well to teach mathematics, and children enjoy

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

Hunsdon Primary School 10 working with numbers and singing number rhymes. However, the learning objectives for all activities are not always specific enough to ensure good gains in children’s learning. Additionally, some activities, such as outdoor physical activity, are unstructured and this results in limited learning of new skills or competencies. Although there are regular assessments of children’s attainment, there is little evidence that these are used to plan work to meet differing needs. There is no indication that staff make on-going observations of children across the areas of learning, to monitor progress in the short term.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

22. Teaching is good in English across the school. It is very good in the Year 4/5/6 class. Teaching is satisfactory overall in mathematics for pupils aged five to seven, and very good for pupils aged seven to eleven. The basic skills of literacy and numeracy are taught well across the school. Lesson planning is very good and clearly identifies activities for pupils of differing prior attainment; this ensures that work is sufficiently challenging for all pupils. Good use is made of information from regular assessments in order to plan appropriate work. Teachers organise lessons well, and this ensures that intended learning outcomes are realised. In many lessons, teachers make good use of questioning, and this helps pupils develop their knowledge, improve their thinking skills, and solve problems. This is particularly noticeable in mathematics, where teachers work hard to develop pupils’ strategies for mental arithmetic. Teachers have good subject knowledge, manage pupils well

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

and make good use of resources. Classroom assistants are very well deployed and make a significant contribution to the teaching and learning. As a result, pupils make good gains in their learning and enjoy their work. Their good levels of concentration and very good behaviour in almost all literacy and numeracy lessons help them to achieve well. Occasionally, the length of time that the teacher talks to the pupils detracts from lessons and this affects pupils’ enjoyment and their engagement in tasks. Teaching in science is good. It is satisfactory in religious education across the school and in geography for pupils aged five to seven. Teaching is good in music and geography for pupils aged between seven and eleven. There was not enough teaching seen in other foundation subjects to make an overall judgement.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

23. There are good features in many lessons, which contribute well to learning. All lessons are well planned, and this gives a clear purpose. This is evident in lessons where pupils are fully engaged and as a result acquire new learning. Teachers have good subject knowledge and use questioning successfully to encourage pupils to solve problems. In most science lessons teachers give pupils opportunities to work together on practical tasks, and this enables them to share ideas and discuss methods. For example in a Year 4/5/6 lesson, pupils were able to discuss how they might draw graphs to show the results of the effect of exercise on pulse rates. In this lesson, the teacher maintained a very brisk pace, monitored pupils’ responses closely, and gave no opportunities for pupils to be off task. All teachers have good relationships with their pupils. The new teachers have worked very hard to achieve this, as

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

many of their pupils were insecure after so many changes of teacher. This practice is ensuring good behaviour among pupils and a responsible attitude to their work. In the good lessons, activities are purposeful and challenging. Pupils work hard, are enthusiastic, and put a good amount of physical and creative effort into their work. Marking is used effectively by most teachers to help pupils improve. Homework is used very well to enhance learning for pupils in the Year 4/5/6 class. Teachers make good use of opportunities to develop literacy and numeracy across the curriculum. Hunsdon Primary School 11 24. In some lessons, mainly for pupils aged five to seven, there are shortcomings in the methods; for example in a physical education lesson the teacher did not give enough time for pupils to evaluate their work or to demonstrate good work to each other. Occasionally, explanations are overlong and pupils become fidgety and lose interest. Work is not always

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

well matched to pupils’ prior knowledge, as in the Year 1 science lesson, when pupils were unable to measure accurately as part of their science work. In mathematics, there is an over- reliance on workbooks and worksheets, and as a result there are fewer practical and investigative tasks.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

25. Teaching of pupils with special educational needs is satisfactory in the case of pupils aged five to seven, and very good for pupils aged seven to eleven. Teachers know their pupils well and generally provide work that is challenging and at an appropriate level. The level of work tailored to individual needs is especially good in the Year 4/5/6 class. Individual education plans are satisfactory, but often lack sufficiently specific targets to enable teachers to make best use of them in planning work. It is because teachers know their pupils so well individually that they are able to compensate, to some extent, for these shortcomings. There is effective teamwork between teachers and classroom assistants, who provide effective and caring support for pupils.

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TO PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

26. The quality and range of learning opportunities provided by the school are unsatisfactory because the school does not meet statutory requirements for ICT. This is because there is insufficient direct teaching of ICT, all strands of the subject are not taught, and there is not enough teaching of ICT skills across subjects. This indicates a deterioration in curricular provision since the previous inspection but only because ICT does not now meet statutory requirements. In all other respects there has been some improvement. The time allocation is in line with that recommended for all pupils. There are schemes of work to support each area of the curriculum, mainly following a national scheme of work, which is now available. These clearly establish detailed outlines of learning objectives, activities, resources and timings for each objective. This good system is helping to ensure continuity across years and classes, although some inconsistencies in provision remain in some subjects,

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TO PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

especially in Years 2 and 3. There is satisfactory coverage of the local authority’s syllabus for religious education. Although full school assemblies meet the requirement to hold a daily act of collective worship, this is not the case in all class assemblies and the statutory requirements are not fully met.

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TO PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

27. All pupils, including those with special educational needs, have equal access to all areas of the curriculum. The school has an appropriate policy in place, which has recently been evaluated and amended by the current staff. The school ensures equality of opportunity for the Year 2 pupils in the mixed age classes through the shared teachers’ planning. Extra- curricular activities are open to both sexes, though not always to the younger pupils. A production by a local theatre group entitled ‘Bill’s new frock’ was used by the school to discuss gender issues. Overall, the school works well to give pupils equal access to its curricular provision and to involve them fully in school life. Hunsdon Primary School 12 28. The school makes good provision for teaching literacy and numeracy and has effective strategies in place to develop pupils’ skills well.

p.17

TO PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

29. The curriculum provision for pupils with special educational needs is good. It is satisfactory for children under five and good for pupils between the ages of five and eleven. Pupils with special educational needs have access to all the opportunities within the school. Individual education plans for pupils with special, educational needs are satisfactory, but many do not have sufficiently well focused targets to inform teaching for individual pupils, or to allow specific new targets to be set.

p.18

TO PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

30. When account is taken of the small size of the school, there is good provision for extra-curricular activities. There is a range of musical activities, a French club, an athletics club, and competitive sports against other smaller schools.

p.18

TO PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

31. Provision for pupils’ personal social and health education is satisfactory. All the adults in the school make considerable efforts to give pupils opportunities to develop positive relationships and become responsible citizens. Pupils are made aware of the dangers of alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs. Sex education is taught satisfactorily through the science curriculum. ‘Circle time’ arrangements are also made in some classes but this is not a regular, consistent provision for all classes.

p.18

TO PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

32. The community makes a very good contribution to pupils’ learning. There are a number of regular visitors to the school, and the local community contributes substantial support to the school fete. The local vicar is actively involved in many school assemblies, and many village residents have given information and artefacts to help in understanding the history of the village.

p.18

TO PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

33. There are good links with partner institutions. Links with local secondary schools are effective, and transfer of pupils to those schools is arranged smoothly. The school is part of a consortium of smaller schools that work effectively together to provide some joint services and resources. For example, the consortium shares artefacts for religious education, and this makes a good contribution to enriching pupils’ experience. There are also good links with the local playgroups and the village mother and toddler group.

p.18

TO PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

34. Provision for pupils’ personal, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good overall.

p.18

TO PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

35. There is satisfactory provision for pupils’ spiritual development. Assemblies provide opportunities for pupils to reflect on their lives and on the lives of others, as well as an introduction to some moral issues. Opportunities for reflection are found in a number of subjects, such as science, English, music, geography and religious education. However, planning for spiritual development is not strong across all subjects. Not all areas of the curriculum make a significant contribution, and this reduces the impact of the good work that is being done.

p.18

TO PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

36. Provision for pupils’ moral development is very good. A strong moral dimension is found in lessons, where teachers and other adults constantly emphasise a very strong moral code of good behaviour, a code that is consistently applied by all staff across all classes. The adults in the school present very positive role models. There is a good system of awards and Hunsdon Primary School 13 rewards to encourage both good work and good behaviour, and this has a significant impact on behaviour and attainment. Pupils are taught right from wrong and the school is a happy and well-ordered community.

p.18

TO PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

37. There is very good provision for pupils’ social development. In the majority of lessons opportunities are taken for developing such social skills as working together, sharing, and taking turns. In class discussions, pupils are taught to listen carefully to others when they are speaking and to show respect for the views of others. There is a range of trips during the school year, which give pupils good opportunities to develop their social relationships with one other and with adults. Pupils are courteous to visitors and happy to talk with them.

p.19

TO PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

38. The provision for pupils’ cultural development is satisfactory. There is a cultural element in lessons such as history, the after school French club, English, art and music, and this enhances provision. Pupils have good opportunities to study their own culture and heritage. In general, they have limited opportunities to study the richness and diversity of other cultures. This limits their preparation for life in a culturally diverse society.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

39. The previous report found satisfactory procedures for support and guidance and for monitoring academic progress. There were some aspects of health and safety requiring improvement. This has now taken place and procedures for child protection and ensuring pupils’ welfare are good.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

40. This all means that the school now provides a good level of care for its children. There are good links with outside support agencies involved in the protection of children. There is a strong awareness of the issues involved in child protection, and good recent experience of child protection practice. Further formal training in child protection is planned and good Child Protection procedures are in place.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

41. The school has a very caring ethos. This is demonstrated in many ways. This includes the tone of much of the routine correspondence to parents and the parents meeting where all felt the school had a good concern for children’s health and safety.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

42. First-aid procedures are now good and they are carried out effectively. There are effective arrangements for trained first-aider cover, and suitable deputising arrangements. These include reporting accidents promptly to parents; a point recognised at the pre-inspection meeting.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

43. Good relationships between staff and pupils allow pupils to approach staff readily with any personal concerns and delights. Excellent examples of this were seen in the contributions made to a closing session in a mathematics lesson in the Year 2/3 class. Here pupils talked with ease about their experiences whilst working on mathematical tasks. They showed no inhibition or feeling insecure about the value of their contribution. Similar experiences accompanied contributions to the whole school assembly about communities. This provided a good opportunity for pupils to talk about their experiences as part of various communities. Hunsdon Primary School 14 44. The headteacher and a designated member of the governing body regularly carry out a detailed risk assessment of the school site, and any concerns are addressed. The governing body, through its premises committee, receives reports upon these reviews of security and

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

45. Procedures for monitoring pupils’ attendance and punctuality are good. There was evidence of class registers being well completed. The school carries out a regular review of absence, to help identify pupils at risk or where absence may be indicating other concerns . There are good follow-up procedures for absence, and these mean that the great majority of absences are authorised. This is an improvement upon situation at the time of the previous inspection.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

46. The school provides a good standard of care for children who have special educational needs. Teachers and other adults give these children positive encouragement to promote their self-esteem, so that they play a full part in all aspects of school life.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

47. The school has a very good behaviour policy. It is based upon high expectations and on fostering children’s self-esteem. Rules for behaviour in class and around school, and the range of rewards and sanctions, are reviewed each year with the children in each class. This is a good feature of the development of expectations and arrangements for behaviour. There has been comment from parents, pupils and others about the ‘points/sticker’ system and positive feedback about the Wall of Achievement. Appropriate supervision and a positive approach give children good opportunities to discuss their behaviour and its consequences. Class teachers who know their pupils well provide good pastoral support. This is helped by some effective links that have been established with parents and carers, who bring their children into the classrooms at the start of the school day. Many of these links and support actions flourish

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

because this is a small school, which is an important part of the village community.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

48. The school has made good improvements in its assessment procedures since the previous inspection. It now has good procedures for assessing pupils’ attainment in the core subjects of English, mathematics and science and uses this information well to plan work for the different age ranges and abilities within each class. Data is collected as a result of thorough regular assessments in these subjects, and predictions are made about future levels of attainment. As a result of analysis of national tests, pupils have been given target cards for their writing in order to improve its quality. All subjects are assessed against the statements of attainment for each level of the National Curriculum and this helps teachers to identify gaps in pupils’ learning. However, this practice is not always used well to plan work for pupils of differing needs in the foundation subjects. Assessment in ICT is a weakness, as teachers’ are

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

not fully aware of the appropriate progression in pupils’ development of skills. As a result there is no accurate assessment in order to plan appropriate work for pupils, and this contributes to the unsatisfactory standards in the subject. Hunsdon Primary School 15 49. There is an appropriate range of procedures for assessing children’s attainment in the foundation stage. These assessments give some indication of children’s progress in communication, language and literacy and mathematics, but not in the other areas of learning. There is limited evidence that assessment information is used well to provide work clearly matched to children’s needs or that regular observations of children are a feature of gathering information on their overall attainment.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

50. Overall, there are good assessment procedures in place for tracking attainment and progress for pupils with special educational needs. However, the imprecise nature of some pupils’ individual targets makes assessment more difficult and means that, in some cases, realistic new targets are difficult to set.

p.21

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

51. Procedures for monitoring and supporting children’s academic progress are good. Teachers maintain records through the term and carry out a number of regular tests, reports and assessments to track children’s progress. The annual written reports on children's progress give a good indication of the standards they have reached, but targets for the future are not always part of these reports.

p.21

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

52. Procedures for monitoring and supporting children’s personal development are less formal and are satisfactory rather than good. They draw heavily upon the teachers’ detailed knowledge of children, which is a feature of the good relationships between pupils and teachers in the school. There are comments relating to school development on school reports. Assessment begins in the foundation years and continues throughout the school. There are only limited records of personal development, however. Individual Education Plans (IEPs) are good, and behaviour targets, where required, are set and monitored.

p.21

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

53. The previous report found a satisfactory level of parental support, with communications of a similar quality between staff and parents, a useful parents’ association, and the partnership with parents making a contribution to pupils learning and personal development. This has now improved to become good and an emerging strength of he school.

p.21

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

54. Evidence from parents' questionnaire and from their meeting before the inspection shows that they have positive views of the school and its work. They are keen to know about their children's progress and the school's educational priorities, and they believe that their children are happy in school. Parents feel that the school wishes to encourage parents and they regard it as an approachable school. Examples of special arrangements to accommodate working parents were noted at the parents’ meeting. The majority of parents surveyed (94 per cent) consider the school gives good support and encouragement to children's academic and personal development. Parents at the meeting considered that the school has improved. This is particularly felt to have been the case since the arrival of the new headteacher.

p.21

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

55. The links between the school and parents have a positive impact on children's learning. There are many who give the school unstinting and high quality support. Parent representatives contribute fully to the work of the governing body and its committees. Parents are able to support teachers by helping in classes and other areas of the school, while Hunsdon Primary School 16 others assist by accompanying staff on educational trips. Areas in which parents give good support children include reading, art and design, design and technology and cookery. During the inspection the team saw parents helping in reading sessions. They record pupils’ progress and add substantial value to the reading effort.

p.21

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

56. Parents are also encouraged to play an active part in the life of the school, as members of the strong and active school association. The association raises a significant amount of money for the school. The most recent major project has been the provision of an outdoor adventure play area. Previous efforts have included supplying reading materials. The links, created through the association and with parents working in school, are good.

p.22

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

57. The support provided at home is also evident from the reading records and the easy and open communication with parents seen during the inspection. The overall contribution of parents to children’s learning at school and at home is thus good and enriches learning and personal development.

p.22

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

58. The information the school provides to parents is sound. The school prospectus is adequately presented and sets out most of the required information. The school has recognised that the prospectus requires improvement. In particular there are no figures given for attendance, information from national tests is not well presented, and the language is rather stiff and formal. Further information concerning the curriculum is provided on request, at curriculum meetings held for parents and during consultation evenings. Workshops to explore how parents can help are held at the start of each school year.

p.22

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

59. When it is required, parents regularly attend reviews of progress for pupils with special educational needs. There are good contacts with local authority services, which regularly liaise with teachers to provide extra advice and support.

p.22

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

60. The reports on children's progress are often detailed and describe the work each has done and the progress he or she has made. The reports do not always contain any detailed targets for the child, but they do give an opportunity for both parent and child to comment. Parents felt that they were well informed about progress, with 90 per cent of those responding to the questionnaire taking the view that they were fully informed.

p.22

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

61. Links with partner organisations are good. There is a good programme of induction agreed with the secondary school. The school is part of the small schools consortium, which ensures a shared understanding of what is taught, and what children know and understand.

p.22

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

62. There are helpful links with the playgroup, which uses the school grounds. This ensures a positive and helpful flow of information on those children transferring to the school. This is the majority.

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

63. The leadership of the headteacher and key staff is good overall. The new headteacher provides very good leadership. This represents an improvement on the situation described in the last report, though the headteacher on that occasion was also fairly new. Three of the four full time teachers in the school are newly appointed this year, and one of these, who was on a Hunsdon Primary School 17 temporary contract, has now left. A new permanent teacher will take her place from September. The school does not have a deputy headteacher but has one recently appointed teacher designated as a senior teacher. This means that most management responsibilities have only recently been allocated, and the only long- serving teacher has a very heavy load, with currently very little time to discharge it. The new headteacher is in the process of reviewing all these arrangements to ensure a better distribution of responsibilities amongst the staff. A

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

clear programme for monitoring and supporting curriculum development and developing the roles of subject managers has been put in place, to take effect from September. However, all staff are discharging their management responsibilities well within the constraints of being very new or having many responsibilities. Since taking over the leadership of the school in January, the new headteacher has created a good cohesive team and has ensured that governors are fully involved in the work of the school. She has ensured a whole school commitment to improvement, in terms of the quality of education for the pupils and the development of good links with the community. As a result, the aims of the school are reflected very well in its work and all staff are committed to providing high quality education.

p.23

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

64. There are many reasons why the new headteacher has had a very good impact on the school’s work. She has created a calm and purposeful atmosphere after so much instability and this has secured confidence among parents, staff and governors. Issues that were causing concern to parents, such as the mixed Year 1/2 and 2/3 classes, have been discussed fully with them. Although standards are good overall, the headteacher and staff analysed the results of the national tests. These showed standards in writing to be in need of improvement, and as a result she has introduced individual writing target cards which pupils have to sign when they have achieved their writing target. Writing has improved as a result. Policies, such as the behaviour policy, have been reviewed, and mid-day supervisors have been given training to help them manage behaviour in the playground. Pupils have agreed their own class rules,

p.23

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

including reward and sanction schemes. The headteacher has worked with all staff to formulate an appropriate teaching and learning policy for the school. She has undertaken formal observations of teaching, which are both rigorous and detailed, and has engaged staff in discussions about areas for improvement. This has led to improvements in the quality of teaching. The school has begun the process of self-evaluation, using the local education authority’s self-evaluation pack. This is clearly a staff very committed to improvement.

p.23

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

65. The headteacher is acting as co-ordinator for special educational needs and has established clear priorities for development. At present there is no conflict between the substantial responsibilities of the two roles. Support staff and teachers have had a good level of advice and training for special educational needs and this contributes to raising standards. There is a link governor for special educational needs, and the governors’ monitoring of this area of work is good. Statutory requirements for special educational needs are fully met.

p.23

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

66. The governing body have worked very hard to keep the school on an even keel during the major disruption caused by staff changes and difficulties with recruitment of staff. They have had a very steep learning curve as they had limited involvement in the work of the school under the previous leadership. They have discharged their statutory responsibilities well. A recent review of the school’s sex education policy has led to amendments, which will involve discussion with parents. Governors visit school on a regular basis to ensure the curricular provision is broad and balanced. They have met requirements to ensure that performance management of staff is in place and properly conducted. They are very supportive of the work of the school and are gaining a better understanding of their roles. They now know the Hunsdon Primary School 18 school’s strengths and weaknesses and have had a significant role in shaping its direction

p.23

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

through the appointment of new staff, including the headteacher. They are working well together and are committed to serving the school community.

p.24

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

67. The school is currently using the school improvement plan (SIP) initiated by the previous headteacher but the staff have extracted the most important priorities to develop, such as writing and ICT. The headteacher is full aware of the need to set a new school improvement plan which involves all the school’s stake holders in the process and is related to the needs and expectations of a new staff, governors and the wider school community.

p.24

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

68. The school's financial planning now involves all appropriate staff and governing body members, most of whom are relatively new to their jobs and roles. Expectations are now appropriate, with a good degree of consultation at all levels about budgeting and spending decisions. Because such involvement has been expected of the governing body only since the appointment of the new headteacher, all are learning about these processes together, bringing to their tasks a refreshing level of open questioning about all aspects of the financial side of school life. This new approach has brought together governors, teachers, other school staff and parents, who together ensure that the principles of comparison and best value are applied satisfactorily to financial spending. The governing body is at the early stages of considering how it will make judgements on the educational effectiveness of spending decisions it makes,

p.24

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

but is making a good start in judging the value to pupils' education of the recent investments in staffing. Use of grants for specific purposes has been appropriate, with the school's efficient administrative officer able to demonstrate the use of these funds. A recent audit of the school's accounts found no major weaknesses, and the few minor recommendations have been addressed. The governing body is beginning to link all spending to the school's development planning, but it has not yet followed this through a complete cycle, so has not yet closed the evaluation and re-planning ‘loop’. Early priorities concerning staffing are well supported with financial planning, with a new reception teacher now appointed for September and a classroom assistant for pupils aged five to seven appointed during the week of inspection.

p.24

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

69. The use of new technology to support administration in the school is good. New systems are about to come on stream to make this more effective still in the near future. The availability of information and communications technology for use in pupils' curriculum and studies is good, but this is not yet used to full effect. The use of computers and other advanced technology for learning is an issue, which the school appreciates is in need of improvement.

p.24

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

70. The school's staffing is now good, with the very recent appointment of most of the teachers and a new headteacher. The further addition of a new teacher for the foundation stage from September, together with a third classroom assistant for Key Stage 1, will complete the school's complement. The teaching post has recently been filled. All staff in both teaching and non-teaching capacities work well together, with training opportunities often attended by all staff and some governors. Recent training has been useful; for example the ‘Top Dance’ training, which has been used effectively in the physical education curriculum.

p.24

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

71. Accommodation is satisfactory overall, but includes strengths and weaknesses in terms of effective provision for the needs of the school. Strengths of accommodation lie in the very pleasant, clean, tidy and graffiti-free nature of the whole environment. The hall is large for a school of this size and provides a good space for physical education and music teaching. The Hunsdon Primary School 19 library provides a good-sized, quiet space for pupils to choose their books or for small group work. Displays, sometimes inviting interaction, as in a current display of magnetism, are good throughout the school. The school field is large and level for outdoor physical education and play, and has recently been enhanced by new static, wooden equipment for outdoor play.

p.24

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

72. A weakness in accommodation is the ‘noise pollution which is an effect of the open-plan classrooms for the foundation stage and the Year 1/2 class. These classes disturb each other on occasions where one class requires quiet when necessarily noisier activities are happening in the other room. These rooms are also adjacent to unsatisfactory toilet arrangements for whole school use, where wash-basins are placed outside the boys' and girls' toilets so all pupils must use these together. These arrangements are unsatisfactory for the needs of older girls in particular, and the basin area takes up a great deal of unnecessary space in that area of the school. The governing body has a useful proposal to redevelop this whole area so that the other main disadvantage of accommodation is improved simultaneously. This relates to the unwelcoming, unhelpfully located entrance to the school itself. Many disadvantages flow from this, despite the very good arrangements the

p.25

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

school has made in the way of displays in that area. Because the school secretary cannot see visitors as they arrive, they must ring a bell, which disturbs one of the classes. The offices of the school secretary and the headteacher, located in that area, are small, dark and cold and would be much more effective if relocated. This would re-orientate the whole school entrance, making it more open, welcoming and pleasant whilst not sacrificing security. Some aspects of the secretary's work would be rendered more secure through these plans. This is a decision out of the hands of the governing body, but one on which the long-term future of the school depends, including its plans for the current reserve of capital under-spend. This reserve has come about because of the understandable reluctance of the previous headteacher, and of the interim acting head, to spend on items which may have proved unwanted by their

p.25

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

successor. Until the decision about the proposed improvements to the school entrance and offices are agreed or discarded, the governing body is unable to make longer-term investment decisions about accommodation.

p.25

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

73. Resources are satisfactory overall. No curriculum area lacks significant resources, and teachers know that they can approach the governing body for necessary curriculum requirements. Resources for English are good, providing a wide variety of texts for pupils' literacy learning. Resources for music include a good number of tuned instruments such as keyboards, so pupils often have an instrument to themselves in music lessons at Key Stage 2. Hunsdon Primary School 20

p.25

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

74. In order to raise standards and enable pupils to make further progress, the governing body, headteacher and staff as a whole team need to:

p.26

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• Improve standards and provision in ICT at both key stages by: - (Paragraphs: 8, 26, 100, 113, 121)

p.26

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

* Ensuring all strands of the ICT curriculum are covered; * Carrying out improvements as indicated in the school improvement plan; * Improving the use of ICT across the curriculum.

p.26

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• Improve aspects of provision in the foundation stage by: (Paragraphs: 2, 21, 75, 77, 79)

p.26

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

* Ensuring that teachers’ planning for children’s writing gives opportunities to write independently for a variety of different purposes; * Ensuring that teachers’ planning for the scientific aspects of knowledge and understanding of the world are appropriate to children’s learning needs and level of conceptual understanding.

p.26

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• Provide and use assessment procedures in ICT, which are consistent across the school by: (Paragraphs: 48, 125)

p.26

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

* Establishing consistent procedures, so that teachers routinely and accurately record what pupils have learnt. * Using this information to provide work that is challenging and helps pupils to build on what they already know. * Improving teachers’ expertise in order to challenge pupils more effectively.

p.26

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

* Develop pupils’ wider cultural awareness. (Paragraphs: 38, 101) Hunsdon Primary School 21

p.26

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of lessons observed 37 Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 13

p.27

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

0 24 40 36 0 0 0 The table gives the percentage of teaching observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about lessons.

p.27

Pupils on the school’s roll YR – Y6

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 88 Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 12 FTE means full-time equivalent.

p.27

Special educational needs YR – Y6

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 0 Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 15

p.27

pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 0

p.27

pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 2 Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 0

p.27

% %

School data 4.7 School data 0.2 National comparative data 5.2 National comparative data 0.5 Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Hunsdon Primary School 22

p.27

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Year Boys Girls Total Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year: 2000 4 3 7

p.28

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Test and examination data is excluded from inspection reports where the year group size is ten or fewer.

p.28

Permanent

Black – Caribbean heritage 0 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

p.28

Permanent

Black – African heritage 0 Black – African heritage 0 0

p.28

Permanent

Black – other 0 Black – other 0 0 Indian 0 Indian 0 0 Pakistani 0 Pakistani 0 0 Bangladeshi 0 Bangladeshi 0 0 Chinese 0 Chinese 0 0 White 86 White 0 0 Any other minority ethnic group 2 Other minority ethnic groups 0 0

p.28

Permanent

This table refers to pupils of compulsory school age only. This table gives the number of exclusions of pupils of compulsory school age, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded. Hunsdon Primary School 23

p.28

YR – Y6

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 5 Financial year 2000/2001

p.29

YR – Y6

Number of pupils per qualified teacher Average class size 22 £

p.29

YR – Y6

Total number of education support staff 3 Expenditure per pupil 2387.00

p.29

YR – Y6

Total aggregate hours worked per week 46.5 Balance brought forward from previous year 18751.00

p.29

YR – Y6

Balance carried forward to next year 33196.00 Hunsdon Primary School 24

p.29

Questionnaire return rate

Number of questionnaires sent out 96 Number of questionnaires returned 54

p.30

know

My child is making good progress in school. 56 39 4 0 2

p.30

know

Behaviour in the school is good. 48 44 2 0 6

p.30

know

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 46 44 4 6 0

p.30

know

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 35 52 13 0 0

p.30

know

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 76 22 2 0 0

p.30

know

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 72 28 0 0 0

p.30

know

The school works closely with parents. 46 43 11 0 0

p.30

know

The school is well led and managed. 56 35 6 0 4

p.30

know

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 57 39 2 0 2

p.30

know

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 26 50 13 7 4

p.30

Other issues raised by parents

Parents expressed concern about their children who were in the mixed Year 1/2 class. Hunsdon Primary School 25

p.30

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

75. Children attend school on a part-time basis from the term after their fourth birthday and children of reception age attend full time. This means that some children are of nursery age and some are reception children. The younger children are deemed ‘early entry’ and are taught to a large extent by the nursery nurse, though the class teacher plans much of the work. The attainment of the children on entry is wide ranging but is average overall. Most children have had pre-school experience, mainly in the on-site playgroup. Although the curriculum is planned in the areas of learning, some of the activities are not always at an appropriate level. This is particularly the case for knowledge and understanding of the world and aspects of literacy, and as a result children do not always make the necessary gains in their learning. During the inspection, a supply teacher taught the children. The teaching seen was

p.31

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

satisfactory overall; it was occasionally good or very good. The main weaknesses in the provision for the foundation stage overall are the lack of specific learning objectives, a lack of knowledge of how to teach some of the areas of learning, and limited use of assessment to plan appropriate work. Most children will achieve the Early Learning Goals in most areas of learning. This is a similar finding to that of the previous inspection, when provision and achievement was found to be satisfactory.

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Personal, social and emotional development

76. Children start school with satisfactory levels of personal and social skills, and by the time they leave the reception class they will reach the Early Learning Goals in this area of learning. Children achieve satisfactorily in relation to their prior attainment. They are fully competent at attending to their personal needs and undress for physical education quickly and sensibly. They put on aprons for painting and are ready to help each other when this proves difficult. Both younger and older children concentrate well on activities they have chosen themselves, such as water play, use of construction toys, or work on the computer. They are confident to take part, for example in music, and are keen to demonstrate their skills to the rest of the class. They generally behave well, although they are fairly restless when required to sit and listen for sustained periods of time. Most respond to class routines well and tidy up at

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Personal, social and emotional development

the end of sessions. They share resources fairly well but occasionally get involved in minor disagreements about them. Teaching is satisfactory overall; adults provide good role models and are sensitive to the children’s needs.

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Communication, language and literacy

77. By the time children leave the reception class they will achieve the Early Learning Goals in aspects of this area of learning, but not all of it. All children are integrated into the school’s literacy strategy, which has been adapted to cater for both the younger and older children. The younger children join in a shortened ‘carpet time’ and then engage in activities supervised by the nursery nurse. There is a good focus on the teaching of initial sounds. As a result, most children know all of them by the end of the reception year and a few are able to use their knowledge of sound to build three letter words. They all enjoy books and handle Hunsdon Primary School 26 them correctly but few are willing to attempt reading other than their reading books. Higher and average attaining children read these books competently and use their phonic skills to help them with unknown words. Lower attaining children have limited awareness of how to use

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Communication, language and literacy

book, and are reluctant even to make up a story. Most children can write their own names, but sometimes form the letters incorrectly, and in the lesson seen the staff did not check to ensure the children formed their letters correctly. Although most children can copy under the teacher’s writing few are willing to write independently. Even though they have a bank of known words they are unsure about how to make these into a sentence. They have few opportunities or encouragement to write independently to develop their writing skills, through activities such as writing orders in their café or writing their own stories related to work in the literacy hour or any other area of learning. Teaching is satisfactory overall. Basic literacy skills are taught satisfactorily. Staff have good relationships with the children and take every opportunity to engage them in conversation. However, they have not provided sufficient

p.32

Communication, language and literacy

opportunities for children to read and write freely in order to develop these skills well.

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Mathematical development

78. All children count and recognise numbers to 10 and a good number can identify missing numbers within a sequence. Many are familiar with numbers well beyond 10 and are keen to attempt to write numbers in excess of 100. Higher and average attaining children carry out simple calculations involving one more or less than a given number. Most recognise the difference between short and long and heavy and light. They correctly name two- dimensional shapes such as square and rectangle. Most children will achieve the Early Learning Goals by the time they leave the reception class and their achievement is satisfactory. Teaching seen during the inspection was good and over time it is satisfactory. Good use is made of the numeracy strategy to develop children’s understanding of number, and as a result children are becoming numerate. Work is appropriately planned, but is not always well matched to the needs of children. Practical activities and a good use of number rhymes

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

79. Children generally have a sound understanding of the world around them and will achieve the Early Learning Goals in this area of learning by the end of the reception year. In most aspects they achieve satisfactorily in relation to their prior attainment but time is not always used well. Children spend time on inappropriate activities, which do not meet their needs well; for example learning about the water cycle or using texts, which are beyond their level of understanding. Even in the science lesson seen, the children were asked to identify salt and fresh water fish. The children were able to identify animals, which live in the water such as crabs, turtles and sharks but many lost interest in the large number of creatures they were expected to identify as salt or fresh water or both. Children learn to use a variety of recyclable materials to glue, stick, cut and join in order to make boats. Children are confident

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

Hunsdon Primary School 27 in the use of the computer and use the mouse effectively to move icons across the screen or to create underwater environments. They are developing a good understanding of beliefs through learning about the role that the local church plays in their lives. Teaching is satisfactory overall with weaknesses in delivering the scientific component of this area of learning.

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Physical development

80. Children are given appropriate opportunities to develop their physical skills with the younger children having access to outdoor physical activity on a regular basis and older children having regular physical education. Younger children use bats and balls with a satisfactory level of control. Older children show good awareness of space when taking part in the rehearsal for Sports day. They run well, throw accurately and follow instructions well. Most handle small tools such as scissors with precision and have sound hand control when writing and drawing. Most children will attain the Early Learning Goals by the end of the reception year and their achievement in this area of learning is satisfactory. Teaching is satisfactory overall and lessons are generally appropriately planned. However there are missed opportunities to develop physical skills in the outdoor sessions for the younger children as

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Physical development

these are not sufficiently structured or planned and development happens incidentally.

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Creative development

81. Children have opportunities to sing simple songs from memory and match their movements to music; for example they learn to sing ‘One little elephant’ and practise moving like elephants. Children explore colour, shape and texture through the use of collage, paint and modelling materials. They learn about the properties of clay, modelling materials and paint. However, much of the work is teacher directed and children do not get enough opportunities to develop their own ideas. Children are given appropriate opportunities to develop their imagination in role-play activities. They used the café satisfactorily to take on the role of waitress and customer, but the area is not particularly stimulating and does not support other areas of learning such as writing. Teaching is satisfactory and activities are appropriately planned but they could be more stimulating and give the children greater opportunities to develop their imagination.

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ENGLISH

82. Pupils' attainment in English has improved significantly since the previous inspection when it was found to be average. The national tests for 7-year-olds in 2000 showed pupils' attainment to be well above the national average in reading and about average for writing. Reading standards compared very favourably with the performance of pupils in similar schools but writing was not so strong. Standards in reading have shown a gradual improvement over a three-year period while standards in writing have remained static. The Hunsdon Primary School 28 number of pupil’s aged 11 last year was too small to make national test results statistically significant, but standards have been in line with or well above the national average and that of similar schools over a three-year period. The year-on-year trend in standards has been above the national trend for English.

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ENGLISH

83. Inspection evidence confirms this positive picture of attainment in English. By the end of Year 2, attainment is above average overall and by the end of Year 6 it is well above average. Pupils are achieving well in English.

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ENGLISH

84. By the age of 7, pupils' speaking and listening skills are generally good. They speak confidently using an appropriate range of vocabulary, many with good sentence structure and pronunciation. Most pupils in the Year 1/2 class listen well. They are able to understand terms such as ‘grammatical agreement’ used by the teacher when introducing a literacy exercise. Those in the Year 2/3 class could also understand vocabulary such as ‘onomatopoeia’ well enough to use the idea appropriately in the creation of poems and free verse. These pupils all listened respectfully to their teacher and to other pupils, showing politeness and consideration for what they heard. Speaking skills at the age of 7 are also above average. Pupils talk confidently to others using the language they hear in class and build up their range of subject vocabulary well. By the age of 11, these good speaking and listening skills have further refined so that pupils listen very effectively to the complex sets of

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ENGLISH

instructions from their teacher required to organise work in the mixed age class. Pupils in Year 6 speak fluently and well, with an extensive vocabulary derived partly from what they learn in the curriculum. They can talk about their learning in literacy lessons at great length, using a very good range of analytical vocabulary and speculative language when talking about the novels they have been studying. They can justify their use of certain words, phrases and descriptions and when required can suggest improvements to what they have said.

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ENGLISH

85. By the age of seven, pupils’ attainment in reading is well above average. All pupils match the nationally expected standards in reading, with many above these levels. This is true for both boys and girls, with many of the higher attaining pupils heard reading being boys. The school's focus on the improvement of boys' reading, through prominent displays as well as suitable teaching methods has been successful in its objectives. Pupils are introduced to a wide range of texts, both fiction and non-fiction, as a result of the implementation of the national literacy strategy. Parents are encouraged to support their children at home and do so regularly. Appropriate emphasis is placed on the teaching of phonics in the literacy hour and most children use these skills effectively when reading. Higher and average attaining pupils know how to extract information efficiently from books by using the contents and index pages.

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ENGLISH

By the age of 11, pupils' standards in reading are well above average and they read a wide variety of texts for both information and pleasure. The technicalities of reading; stress, rhythm and intonation when reading aloud are very good and pupils' comprehension of fiction and non-fiction texts is likewise well above average. Most pupils read silently with speed and confidence and cope with demanding reading material. They enjoy books such as The Hobbit and Harry Potter, which they read expressively. Pupils know how to use information books effectively to extract information as they have regular timetabled visits to the school library. They are familiar with terms such as contents, index and glossary and know how to use the Dewey system to locate books. Hunsdon Primary School 29 86. Pupils writing skills are at the expected level by the age of seven. After analysis of the weaker skills revealed in pupils' writing, more time has recently been allocated for this aspect

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ENGLISH

in the curriculum and more emphasis placed on writing skills. While this is still the weaker element of pupils' attainment, particularly when pupils are younger, by the time they are 11, their writing matches, and often exceeds the national expectation. Because of the turbulent staffing history in the early years, combined with unhelpful class allocation arrangements earlier in this school year, pupils in Year 1 do not have secure basic skills for writing. Although the Year 1/2 class has now settled better, some of these weaknesses are still evident in their written work. These weaknesses relate more to the technicalities of writing such as letter formation, spelling, the linkage, or lack of it, between phonics and written language than to content, which is often good . It has taken a long time in Year 1 for pupils to become confident to write at all, because they have missed the usual foundation experience of putting

p.35

ENGLISH

‘pen to paper’ to express ideas or thoughts automatically. Examples of weaker written work in Year 1 were observed in their writing of postcards. Pupils were confident to express ideas, with some good ideas about what to say to their correspondents, but letter formation and spelling were difficult for many pupils. By Year 2, however, despite the recent staffing instability, pupils have pulled up their attainment in writing and all pupils have written work, which matches the national expectation in all aspects. They use capital letters and full stops consistently in their writing and are beginning to use a wider range of punctuation marks such as question marks. Their written work is interesting and some higher attaining pupils are making good use of descriptive words to add interest. In the Year 2/3 class, some Year 2 pupils are tackling the writing of poems, including the use of onomatopoeia. Pupils’

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ENGLISH

attainment in writing is well above average by the age of 11. However, the picture of attainment for pupils’ aged seven to eleven varies with the year-groups. Year 3 has made a good start, with written work related to poems, sounds and onomatopoeia showing good levels of understanding. Year 4 is a larger group, which includes a much higher proportion of lower attaining pupils, many of them boys, who have great difficulties with written work in particular. Years 5 and 6 are both small year groups and attainment of pupils in these year groups is above average. Pupils in Years 4,5and 6 are in one class all together, which has required unusually complex planning and preparation to conform to the demands of the National Curriculum and fulfil the requirements of the national literacy strategy. That this has been achieved so successfully is a tribute to the very high quality of teaching in this class.

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ENGLISH

Pupils in Year 6 write well, for a variety of audience and in a range of styles. Their writing techniques, handwriting and spelling are above average and the content is good.

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ENGLISH

87. By the age of 11, pupils are applying their high levels of English competence effectively across other areas of their curriculum, writing up science experiments or design technology investigations, using interesting styles. In their English studies pupils also write sensitive poetry and prose that reflect high levels of understanding of their work in the subject. Their collected free verse and poems are presented as booklets using ICT to word-process the texts. These also incorporate elements of desktop publishing as illustration representing a good range of ideas and high levels of competence imaginatively matching the ideas in the language with visual ideas in their finished work.

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ENGLISH

88. Pupils' attitudes to English across the school are good. Pupils selected to read to inspectors mostly enjoyed reading, with both boys and girls reading regularly at home and most parents sign their reading records with positive comments about their children’s' improvement. The early reluctance to write has disappeared by Year 2 and pupils seen in the literacy hour were keen to get on to their group work involving writing. Apart from some Hunsdon Primary School 30 restlessness in Year 1, pupils work together exceptionally well, in quiet, purposeful atmosphere where learning is very good. As they get older, pupils appreciate different sides of an argument and can debate the issues together. For example, pupils in Year 4 discuss school uniform, presenting their own views in speech and writing effectively, but valuing the different opinions of others.

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ENGLISH

89. The improvements in pupils' attainment in English derive in part from the good quality of teaching observed. All English teaching seen was good, with very good teaching of the wide age/ability spread at the top of the school. Some excellent aspects of the planning for and organisation of this group enable all pupils to learn well. In the Year 2/3 and Year 4/5/6 classes, teachers and classroom assistants work together exceptionally well, creating a team who move ‘seamlessly’ between groups during lessons. This helps all pupils to do their best with the language and the high level of pupil/teacher interaction is instrumental in enabling lower attaining pupils, including pupils with special educational needs, to achieve well. The current lack of a classroom assistant for the five to seven year old pupils is unhelpful, but the school has filled this position from next term. Teachers recognise the weaknesses in pupils'

p.36

ENGLISH

work, such as writing and plan the curriculum to address these issues. They know their pupils very well, planning and teaching a huge variety of different work for groups, and sometimes for individuals, so that they can make the best progress possible.

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ENGLISH

90. The management of the subject is effective. It lies currently with a co-ordinator who has a broad range of other responsibilities. The forthcoming review of subject co-ordination will address the balance of these responsibilities between the new staff for coming years. The key issue for improvement will be a focus on improving younger pupils’ competencies relating to writing.

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MATHEMATICS

91. The school has small numbers of pupils in each year group and this makes comparisons with national averages statistically invalid. Results over a period of time provide a better indicator of performance. For the three-year period 1998 to 2000, standards of attainment have remained above or well above the national average at age seven, and consistently well above average at age eleven. In comparison with similar schools the school is attaining high standards. There are no significant variations between the attainment of boys and girls. Inspection evidence indicates similar attainment, with pupils attaining above the national average at age seven and well above average at ages eleven. The school uses the numeracy strategy well to ensure pupils develop their skills successfully. This, combined with some very good teaching, especially for the older pupils, is ensuring that by the age of 11 most pupils are

p.36

MATHEMATICS

secure mathematicians. All pupils, including those with SEN, achieve well in relation to their prior attainment. This is a significant improvement since the previous inspection, when standards were judged to be satisfactory.

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MATHEMATICS

92. Pupils in Year 1 are competent in addition and subtraction of numbers to twenty. They confidently use a number line to count forwards and backwards to help them solve problems. However, they are less skilful in measuring accurately, using non-standard units of measure, as was evident in a science lesson. By the time they are seven, higher and average attaining pupils are able to solve problems involving halves, addition, subtraction and multiplication. They use a 100 square effectively to help with their work. Most know the terms ‘multiples’, Hunsdon Primary School 31 ‘odds’ and ‘evens’. Lower attaining pupils work confidently with numbers within twenty. All have had experience of measuring using standard units of measure and have made block graphs. However, there was no indication that pupils had interpreted their graphs, and most work on measurement was in workbooks. Pupils achieve well over the two years and have a

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MATHEMATICS

good grasp of numeracy skills by the age of seven. There is less evidence that all of the other aspects of mathematics are taught in sufficient depth or with enough emphasis on practical activity. Pupils gradually develop their skills across all areas of mathematics as they move through the school. They achieve well and sometimes very well during this period. By the time they are 11, most pupils have a good grasp of all four rules of number and have acquired many effective strategies for solving problems such as those involving prime and square numbers. They have a good understanding of probability, know how to work out the angles of a triangle, and can calculate to two decimal points. In their work in data handling, they can produce block graphs and pie charts of their results and interrogate graphs for information. Higher attaining pupils work on mathematical challenges such as those involving the number

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MATHEMATICS

of triangles, which can be created from a number of rods, using different bases.

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MATHEMATICS

93. The quality of teaching is satisfactory in the Year 1/ 2 class and very good overall in the Year 2/3 and Year 4/5/6 class. This is a significant improvement in the teaching of older pupils since the previous inspection. All teachers have good subject knowledge and plan lessons very well to cater for the different ages within the class. This is especially well done in the Year 4/5/6 class, where there are three-year groups. This ensures that work is well matched to pupils’ needs and as a result they make good gains in their learning. Teachers are well organised and manage pupils well, thus creating a good working environment. Support staff are very well deployed to help groups of pupils and ensure they remain on task. The numeracy strategy is used effectively to improve pupils’ strategies in mental arithmetic and to enable them to develop a good range of numeracy skills. Where teaching is very good,

p.37

MATHEMATICS

questioning is used very well to encourage pupils to think about mental strategies they can use, or relationships between numbers; for example ‘Is there a different way?’ ‘How will we do this’? ‘Who can tell me a number that is a multiple of three whose digits add up to 9?’ Relationships are very good and this encourages pupils to listen well and show real interest. Planning is extremely detailed and support staff are very effectively deployed. No time is wasted and lessons are conducted at a cracking pace. Good use is made of technical vocabulary such as ‘test of divisibility, ‘prime number’, ‘partitioning’ and ‘rounding’, which pupils clearly understand and use. As a result of this high quality teaching most of these pupils have a very good ability to think mathematically and to find enjoyment in the subject. Where teaching is satisfactory, the pace is fairly slow and there is a lack of enthusiasm in delivery, and

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MATHEMATICS

as a result pupils are less motivated. Additionally, tasks are not always well matched to pupils’ needs, and more able pupils who finish their work quickly have no additional work to challenge them. From the work sample it is evident that there is a fairly heavy reliance on the completion of workbooks for these pupils and this limits practical activity and investigative work.

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MATHEMATICS

94. Opportunities to develop numeracy across the curriculum are good. For example, pupils write recipes for their bread making and use their measuring skills in science investigations. Hunsdon Primary School 32 95. The management of the subject is effective. The co-ordinator has many responsibilities currently beside mathematics. However, she has undertaken some monitoring of the subject through checking teachers’ plans to ensure that the numeracy strategy is fully in place. An audit of resources was carried out in January and new resources purchased to support numeracy lessons, but particularly the mental starter, which has helped to improve this area. She is aware of the school’s tendency to rely on workbooks and there are plans to introduce a scheme of work, which provides greater opportunities for practical and investigative work. She has had limited opportunity to monitor the quality of teaching to know clearly what is

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MATHEMATICS

happening across the school. The new headteacher is aware of this and has set up a monitoring timetable to take effect from September, and there will be time allocated to ensure more rigorous monitoring of the subject and work on aspects, which need further development. Regular assessments are carried out for all pupils and good records are kept. Pupils’ attainment is tracked and targets are set as a result. Good use is made of assessment information to inform lesson planning. For example, the school has a group of able mathematicians in the current Year 6 and has ensured they have been well supported through mathematical challenges and through additional work with the school’s numeracy governor. Pupils in the Year 4/5/6 class are set regular homework and this has a positive impact on the high standards that are achieved.

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SCIENCE

96. Standards are above the national average at age seven, and well above average at age eleven. Teacher assessments in 2000 for pupils in Year 2 show that the number of pupils who attained both Level 2 and above, and Level 3 and above, was very high in comparison to national standards and in relation to similar schools. Over the three years from 1998 to 2000, results in the national tests for 11 year olds, both at the national benchmark of level 4, and at level 5 and above, were very high in relation to national averages and in comparison with similar schools. Attainment has risen strongly since the time of the last report. Provisional results for 2001 indicate that this rise is being maintained. There are no significant differences in attainment between boys and girls or across the four aspects of the subject. Tests for 11 year olds in 2000 indicated that the aspect of science related to ‘Life Processes and Living

p.38

SCIENCE

Things’ was below the level of other aspects of the subject. This is not confirmed by inspection evidence and the issue has clearly been resolved. In general, attainment on entry is average and the rise in attainment over their time in school indicates that pupils achieve well up to age seven, and very well between the ages of seven and eleven. Pupils with special educational needs receive good support in class. Because of this, they achieve well and make good progress towards their individual targets. This is especially so where their targets involve improvements in behaviour.

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SCIENCE

97. By age seven, pupils are beginning to develop the basic vocabulary and concepts associated with science. Pupils in Year 2, for example, can describe basic electrical, circuits and explain the life cycle of a frog, using correct scientific terms and understanding the basic scientific principles. Pupils in Year 1 are able to draw and label the basic parts of flowers such as the stem, buds and petals. Pupils carry out simple investigations and can make sensible predictions about what may happen. They respond to suggestions about how to find things out. This is seen in Year 2, where pupils carry out investigations into what plants may be found around the school, and into what conditions are necessary for healthy plant growth. Higher attaining pupils are able to write at some length and make predictions, clearly explain Hunsdon Primary School 33 the methods used, and give results in simple tables. Lower attaining pupils often write up their

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SCIENCE

results on tables and charts prepared by the teacher. By the end of Year 2 pupils are able to explain the basics of healthy eating, understand where sources of light come from, and can carry out basic sorting operations, such as into living and non-living things.

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SCIENCE

98. By the age of 11, pupils develop a very good factual knowledge and a range of scientific vocabulary that they use with confidence. Pupils in Year 6, for instance, are able to give detailed explanations of how oxygen is transported around the body and why resting pulse rates increase as exercise takes place. They can explain how waste materials build up in the muscles as a result of strenuous exercise and understand the concept of ‘oxygen debt.’ When they are conducting investigations, pupils design and set up their own experiments and they use equipment with care. They recognise the need for fair tests and can describe the most important factors in making sure that tests are fair. They are able to explain what happens if one variable in a test is altered. Pupils in Year 5, for example, can construct basic electrical circuits and can explain what happens if the variables are changed, such as adding extra bulbs

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SCIENCE

to the circuit. When discussing and writing about tests afterwards, pupils are able to describe any shortcomings in their methods and make suggestions as to how the tests could be improved in the light of their experience. By the end of Year 6, pupils understand about insulators and conductors, and how light travels, and about germs and micro-organisms.

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SCIENCE

99. Science makes a good contribution to pupils’ literacy and numeracy development. Pupils usually write up results of investigations for themselves and are encouraged to develop their individual writing styles. This makes a good contribution to literacy development, especially for higher attaining pupils, who are encouraged to write at greater length and use a wide range of vocabulary. Pupils also routinely use measurement of different kinds in science, and present evidence on a range of graphs and tables often designed by themselves rather than by the teacher, and this is a significant contribution to numeracy.

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SCIENCE

100. The quality of teaching, and the learning it promotes, is good for pupils aged five to seven and very good for pupils aged seven to eleven. There has been a clear improvement in the quality of teaching since the last inspection. Teachers have very good class control that is achieved without fuss and with good humour. Pupils respond well to this approach and behaviour is very good in lessons. Pupils show interest in science and have very good attitudes to work. Where they work together in groups, there are very good relationships. It is the combination of very good teaching and very good pupil attitudes that is the strongest factor in the continued rise in standards. Most pupils are in mixed-age groups, and a feature of the teaching, especially in the Year 4, 5 and 6 class, is the very careful planning which ensures that pupils do not repeat work each year, and this provides good continuity in pupils’

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SCIENCE

learning. There is also a range of work tailored to the needs of the range of attainment in the classes so all pupils have work at an appropriate level and can make progress. Where teaching is very good the objectives of the lesson are shared with the pupils so they have some knowledge of how well they have learned during the lesson. There is a good level of teamwork and planning between teachers and classroom assistants and this contributes to raising standards, especially for pupils with special educational needs. Where teaching is satisfactory, rather than good or very good, the teacher does not always give pupils sufficiently clear instructions about what to do. As a result, some time is lost while pupils try to work out what is needed. This was seen, for example, in a Year 1 lesson where pupils were asked to measure the size of their hand. Because the teacher did not give clear instructions

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SCIENCE

about how and where to measure, the pupils were confused and time was lost. Teachers place Hunsdon Primary School 34 a strong emphasis on pupils discussing their ideas and on investigating for themselves, and this is a contributory factor to the rise in standards since the last inspection. The use of information and communication technology to edit and present information is unsatisfactory overall, although there is a clear improvement in Year 6.

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SCIENCE

101. At the time of the last inspection there were no formal assessment procedures in place. There are now good procedures for assessing pupils’ attainment and progress. The data provided is used also to monitor the curriculum to ensure continuity and to ensure that pupils work at an appropriate level. The subject makes a good contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils are encouraged to study, and reflect upon, the world and the environment and this makes a good contribution to their spiritual development. There is a very strong moral dimension in lessons and pupils are taught right from wrong. In discussions, pupils learn to listen to and appreciate the views of others, thus developing their social skills as well as those of speaking and listening. Social development is further enhanced by opportunities to work together, share and take turns. Pupils have opportunities to take

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SCIENCE

responsibility by organising equipment and tidying up after lessons. Cultural development is satisfactory, but there is no strong emphasis on the wide range of traditions from which scientific thinking comes. The last inspection indicated that resources were poorly maintained. There are now good, modern resources in use. The staff have shown a high level of commitment in revising the scheme of work in a short time to take account of recent changes in the curriculum, especially as there is no co-ordinator for the subject at present. The quality of teaching has improved, especially for pupils aged seven to eleven. The subject has made very good progress since the last inspection.

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ART AND DESIGN

102. Most pupils' attainment in art is above average at both seven and eleven, and they achieve well. Pupils are particularly strong in their ability to observe carefully and to draw what they see to a good standard. Many pupils can then add colour successfully to produce very good colour mixing effects. No art lessons could be observed during the inspection, but displays of pupils' work around school show some very good examples of these skills. For example, there were paintings of flowers from the Year 4/5/6 class, where watercolours and poster paints were used very delicately to produce sensitive likenesses of these elements of their plant observations. Likewise in Year 1 and 2, pastel work based on shells shows some excellent, high quality drawing and colour blending. Three-dimensional work of small wire sculptures of figures displayed around corridors shows pupils able to achieve good proportions and to embellish these models with clothing of an appropriate size. Many of these

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ART AND DESIGN

projects provide a link between art and design and design and technology, with pupils developing elements of both curricular areas through the same work.

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ART AND DESIGN

103. Pupils’ attitudes to art appear very positive. They speak of enjoying their artwork and of their parents valuing three-dimensional models and pictures they bring home.

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ART AND DESIGN

104. Teachers have a good understanding of the art curriculum and cover a good range of artists, concentrating on their styles and creating good learning in pupils, who speak about these with understanding. Pupils' work based on Lowry, for example, shows their understanding of both the ‘matchstick-men’ style and of the industrial landscape of the north of England. It also shows good co-operative working on a large-scale mural in the hall, and Hunsdon Primary School 35 individual strengths in each pupil's own work. Teaching of art through the school enables pupils to attain good standards, It creates enjoyment and confidence in their ability to represent the three-dimensional world around them in two-dimensional terms on paper.

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ART AND DESIGN

105. Standards in art have improved significantly since the last report and the subject is now well managed. Teaching and learning have also improved, and resources, which were then described as inadequate, are now satisfactory.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

106. Standards in design and technology are in line with national expectations at age seven and eleven and pupils achieve satisfactorily. This is a similar picture to that found in the last inspection report, but standards in the evaluation aspect of design and technology have improved. In a very good lesson in Year 4/5/6, pupils were at the evaluation phase of a long project about making breads. They had researched the topic thoroughly, making booklets about their findings, which included the use of information and communication technology to present these. These booklets showed good understanding of the need to research a project such as this, investigating the range of breads available commercially and tasting which were preferred by individuals and why. Pupils then developed recipes to make their own breads, made these in the school's kitchen, and froze them for tasting and evaluating in the lesson

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

observed. The lesson was very well planned to give each member of the class an opportunity to evaluate aspects of the taste, texture, smell and so on, of each of five or six different savoury and sweet breads. They tabulated their findings and drew conclusions about possible modifications to the recipes to improve the outcomes. All pupils in the class were well able to do these evaluations effectively. As a result, the ‘investigate, design, make, modify, evaluate’ aspects of design and technology are well understood by pupils aged seven to eleven. Pupils aged five to seven were engaged in a glove-puppet making project, where all pupils understood the need for a template to make identical sizes of fabric to join together to make the two sides of the puppet. They could label their sketches appropriately and plan out the sequence of work needed to accomplish the task of making the puppet.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

107. Attitudes are good, and pupils like making things. Pupils in Year 4/5/6 have greatly enjoyed making the breads but have also enjoyed the investigation and evaluation phases, coming up with lots of amendments to recipes to make tastes better. Their interest in the subject has grown as the project has developed, surprising some of them who saw it as a dull idea to start with.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

108. Teaching of design and technology was good for pupils aged five to seven and very good for pupils aged seven to eleven. Teachers now place appropriate focus on the various aspects of projects they introduce, creating a full understanding of processes such as the bread-making described above. They take opportunities where possible to make links with other aspects of the curriculum. For example, in the bread making, there was the science involved in cooking, the cultural aspects of breads with and without yeast, and breads from other traditions such as naan breads. Hunsdon Primary School 36 109. The co-ordinator is newly appointed and has had little time to devote to the subject as yet. The school is using national guidelines satisfactorily to ensure that all aspects of the subject are covered and that pupils’ skills and competencies are developed in a progressive manner.

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GEOGRAPHY

110. Standards are in line with national expectations at age seven, and above expectations at eleven years of age. Standards have risen since the last inspection, especially for older pupils. There are no significant differences in attainment between girls and boys or across different levels of attainment. Pupils’ achievement is satisfactory at age seven and good at age eleven. Pupils with special educational needs receive effective support in lessons and make progress at the same rate as their peers.

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GEOGRAPHY

111. By the time they are seven, pupils are able to use maps and plans of various types, and show satisfactory development of drawing and mapping skills. Pupils in Year 1, for example, can draw basic maps of the Isle of Struay and those in Year 2 draw maps of their village, showing the facilities in the village and pupils’ routes to school. They can understand and make use of keys on maps. Pupils are able to make basic comparisons such as the differences between houses in towns and those in the countryside. They develop a satisfactory geographical vocabulary and can distinguish between physical and human features on the Isle of Struay. Pupils make good use of basic graphs to show such information as the occupations of people in the village and how they travel to work. This makes a good contribution to numeracy development. There is limited evidence that pupils look at the environment of the

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GEOGRAPHY

areas they study and investigate how people influence their environment, or that pupils are beginning to raise their own questions to investigate.

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GEOGRAPHY

112. By age 11, pupils develop a good geographical knowledge of the wider world. Pupils in the Year 4, 5 and 6 class study the Indian village of Chembakolli as their overseas study. Pupils in Year 4 carry out basic comparisons of the climate and types of food both in Hunsdon and in Chembakolli. They are able to read maps and can use basic grid references. This is extended in Years 5 and 6, and pupils show good map drawing skills when they produce maps of the physical geography of India and of the Indus valley. Good work is done on the distribution of crops in Chembakolli and explanations of how they are distributed, with those closest to houses needing most attention. Pupils are aware of the wider influences on areas such as Chembakolli and of the pressures on them to produce cash crops, such as coffee and tea, as well as traditional crops such as rice. Year 6 pupils are able to revise what they already

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GEOGRAPHY

know about an area and can set up geographical questions they still want to answer, using a range of sources of information to find them. In this way, pupils not only develop a good factual knowledge but also learn a range of investigation and interpretation skills that enhance their geographical knowledge. They are also given good opportunities to write at length, thus improving their literacy skills. Pupils routinely use maps and graphs to present information, and this makes a good contribution to numeracy development.

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GEOGRAPHY

113. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory for pupils up to age seven, and good for pupils between the ages of seven and eleven. Teachers have very good control of their classes and behaviour is very good. Where pupils work together in pairs and groups they do so very well, and very good relationships between pupils and with their teachers are a Hunsdon Primary School 37 feature of the lessons. Teachers have adequate subject knowledge and are able to teach the basic factual knowledge of the subject. Except for pupils in Years 5 and 6, this does not always extend into the more subtle aspects of the subject such as carrying out research and writing their own conclusions. Where teaching is at its best, it is the skill of teaching ideas and concepts beyond the basic facts that is very strong and leads to very good learning. All the teachers have appropriate expectations of pupils’ work, and pupils respond well by showing

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GEOGRAPHY

care over the presentation of their written and drawing work. The use of information and communication technology to word-process pupils’ work and to produce graphs and tables is unsatisfactory overall.

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GEOGRAPHY

114. The subject co-ordinator and teachers have shown a high level of commitment in revising the scheme of work to take account of recent changes and to introduce a new national scheme of work. This provides good continuity. Procedures for assessment of pupils’ attainment and progress are satisfactory, but there is limited use of the data available to check for inconsistencies in provision or to set targets for the subject. There is little use of assessment to inform pupils of what level they are presently at or what they need to do to improve. The subject makes a good contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. In many lessons there are opportunities to reflect on the lives of other people. This is seen in work done by pupils in Year 4 on what they think life is like in Chembakolli. There is a strong moral dimension in lessons, and pupils are taught right from wrong and to

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GEOGRAPHY

respect the different lives of other people. In lessons pupils are able to work together and are taught to share, take turns and listen to the views of others. Pupils in Year 6 are often encouraged to help and support younger pupils with their work. At the time of the last inspection resources for the subject were inadequate. They have shown a considerable improvement since that time. Standards have risen and teaching has improved, particularly for older pupils. The subject has made good progress since the last report.

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HISTORY

115. Standards are in line with national expectations at both ages seven and eleven, as they were at the time of the last inspection. Pupils achieve satisfactorily across the school. There are no significant differences in attainment between girls and boys, and pupils with special educational needs make progress at the same rate as their peers.

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HISTORY

116. Only two lessons were seen during the inspection, one in the Year 2/3 class and the other in the Year 4/5/6 class, so there is not enough evidence to make an overall judgement on teaching. Additionally, evidence was obtained from scrutiny of pupils’ work and teachers’ planning. There is limited evidence for the work of pupils in Years 1, 2 and 3 prior to January, when the current staff took up their posts.

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HISTORY

117. By the age of seven, pupils are gaining an understanding about important historical events such as the Great Fire of London. Through visits to places such as the Harlow museum they learn about differences between washing clothes now and in the past. For example, they found out that mangles and dollies were used for washing rather than the washing machines of today. Most found the experience fun because they got to wash things in the ‘old fashioned way’. By the time pupils leave the school they know about the life of the Ancient Egyptians and the reasons behind the tombs. They have a good knowledge of the different strata of Victorian life and are able to compare the life styles of rich and poor as a result of their Hunsdon Primary School 38 studies. Pupils use secondary sources well in order to analyse evidence. For example, pupils in the Year 4/5/6 class studied a map of the Ancient Indus civilisation to discover their

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HISTORY

methods of sanitation and hygiene. Some of the higher attaining pupils are gaining an understanding of the causes and effects of major historical events such as the Industrial Revolution.

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HISTORY

118. Two lessons were seen; one was satisfactory and the other was good. Where the teaching was good the teacher used good questioning techniques such as ‘What do we know about hospitals in Victorian times?’ ‘Why did Florence Nightingale not want to tell her parents that she wanted to be a nurse?’ Pupils were given opportunities to discuss what they knew about Florence Nightingale and the period. The teacher used her own knowledge well to bring the subject alive for the pupils. She used role-play and story telling effectively to make it relevant and to help pupils understand what conditions must have been like. In the Year 4/5/6 lesson, pupils used secondary sources of information to develop their understanding of the Ancient Indus civilisation. They made satisfactory gains in their learning and learned to make deductions from the evidence available.

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HISTORY

119. The newly appointed co-ordinator has already spent a good deal of time organising resources. She intends to discuss with staff, which topics are to be studied across the school, to ensure they are resourced appropriately, and that pupils do not repeat work. An important aspect of this is to ensure good cross-curricular links, to make the best possible use of the time, which is given to the subject.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

120. It was possible to see only two lessons where ICT was being taught during the inspection. In one of these lessons a parent helper was working with two or three pupils at a time, giving some instruction in to how to send and receive e-mail communications.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

121. Standards in ICT are below what is expected of pupils of the same age, both at seven and eleven years old, and pupils’ achievement is unsatisfactory. It is only where pupils have access to computers at home that they reach appropriate standards. At the time of the last inspection, standards were said to be average compared to national expectations. There has been a decline since that time. The school has the ‘worst of both worlds’ at the present time because it does not have sufficient computers or money to quickly develop the computer suite, or sufficient computers in classrooms to allow pupils to use them frequently enough to improve. The use of ICT across the subjects of the curriculum is unsatisfactory and this leads to limited opportunities for pupils to consistently develop a range of skills. This was reported as satisfactory in the previous inspection. At present the subject does not meet statutory

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

requirements. This is particularly evident in those elements such as control and the use of computers for prediction of events.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

122. By age seven, pupils are fairly familiar with the basic skills. These include using a mouse, finding letters on the keyboard, and some basic word processing skills. Pupils in Year 2, for example, were able to work in pairs to complete work on riddles during their English lesson. In their art lessons, pupils in Year 2 are able to use lettering and graphics to produce Hunsdon Primary School 39 patterns. Year 2 pupils also learn how to send and receive e-mails. There is limited evidence that pupils use ICT to edit and record their work or to investigate the outcomes in real and imaginary situations, using computers. This irregular use of computers provides an unsatisfactory base for work in later years.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

123. By age 11, pupils can carry out the basic work using computers and are able to load, save, print and use fonts of various sizes and types. Most are able to access other programmes such as PowerPoint and Clipart. Pupils in Year 4 practise with a directional robot and are able to programme it so that it will follow a course on their instructions. Within the limitations of equipment and prior attainment, pupils in Year 6 make good progress and produce interesting work, using a variety of techniques. During the inspection they were working on a multi- media presentation of the school brochure, using sound, words and graphics to produce a version suitable for younger pupils. There is limited use of ICT to present information in a variety of ways, for control, or for using ICT-produced simulations to explore and predict results. The use of websites for research and to produce information is also limited.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

124. Not enough teaching was seen during the inspection to be able to make a secure overall judgement on teaching. Teaching in the one lesson seen with Year 6 pupils was very good. The teacher has very good subject knowledge and is able to teach pupils to use a range of skills and programmes to develop some good quality work. Pupils show interest in ICT and handle equipment with care. Behaviour is excellent, even when pupils work on their own with computers in another area. The parent helper who provided instruction for Year 2 pupils gave highly effective teaching to the groups she worked with. Most of the teachers have not yet undertaken their nationally provided in-service training, and this is clearly limiting the development of the subject.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

125. There are no consistent procedures in place to record pupils’ attainment and progress, so it is not possible to maintain a record of the skills that pupils have learned or of what they still need to do. Although the subject has made unsatisfactory progress since the last inspection, the headteacher, subject co-ordinator and governors are well aware of the shortcomings in provision and are actively pursuing clear priorities for development of the subject.

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MUSIC

126. No music was observed for pupils aged five to seven. Pupils do not receive the benefit of good teaching from the subject specialist until they are aged seven or above, where lessons were observed. No comments can be made about the unsatisfactory progress of pupils aged five to seven described in the last report as no lessons were observed for this age group. Good progress and attainment for pupils aged seven to eleven has been maintained.

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MUSIC

127. Pupils' attainment is particularly good in the elements of composition and performance and by the end of Year 6 standards are above average. Some very good compositions, in a variety of styles, provided the music for performance in lessons in Year 4/5/6, with all pupils playing tuned instruments, particularly keyboards, well. Some music had additional lyrics, again composed by pupils themselves, in which standards of singing were average. Many pupils aged seven to eleven have additional instrumental lessons, mostly on keyboards, but some on unusual instruments such as the accordion. Their standards of playing and Hunsdon Primary School 40 performing music are often well above average in Year 5/6. By the age of 11, pupils are good listeners, especially when listening to their peers' compositions and performance. However, in Year 4, pupils' listening and concentration skills are weaker, and as a result they do not listen

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MUSIC

128. Pupils greatly enjoy the limited amount of time they have for music. They play with relish and enthusiasm. All pupils, including some of those with very great difficulties in other curriculum areas, are well able to produce compositions as good as those of their peers and to play their tunes on keyboards with equal competence. Most of the older pupils are in the school band, which was observed in rehearsal for the end-of-term concert where pupils' own good compositions will be played.

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MUSIC

129. Music teaching is good, as at the time of the last report. The teacher's subject expertise is good and she has high expectations of both musical competence and of behaviour. Her teaching methods are highly appropriate for the school's older pupils, and standards reached will stand them in good stead as they move into secondary school. The limited time is used well, and good resources for music are used to good effect to generate the high standards described. Teaching takes place in the hall, which provides a good space for performances.

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MUSIC

130. The specialist music teacher manages the music curriculum for pupils aged seven to eleven well. Pupils aged five to seven have regular class music lessons, using a published scheme which ensures that they develop their musical skills appropriately.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

131. Three lessons were observed during the inspection, two related to movement and aspects of dance and one related to games. Standards matched the expected levels of competence for pupils' ages in all three lessons. No significant differences exist between the attainment of girls and boys in the classes seen. Pupils can move appropriately to music and use indoor apparatus effectively for various exercises. Most pupils in the dance lesson could keep good time and recognise the points to change steps or direction in the country dance routine. Others found this difficult, were less well co-ordinated, and were unable to maintain the dynamics needed to keep the group co-ordinated together. In the cricket lesson for pupils in the Year 4/5/6 class, pupils made good gains in their batting, bowling and fielding skills and developed an appropriate level of competency in the game.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

132. Most pupils enjoy these lessons and have a positive attitude to physical education generally. An after-school athletics event held on one day during the inspection was well attended.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

133. The quality of teaching seen was satisfactory for pupils in the Year1/2 class and good for pupils in the Year 2/3 and 4/5/6 classes. Warm-ups are a well-considered part of lessons, and planning of lessons is good. Teachers have benefited from recent training related to dance, and are putting their skills into practice well in classes. They take care to make the links between social aspects of dance, such as celebration, and the practical application of Hunsdon Primary School 41 social skills, such as group co-operation and keeping time together in a country dance. In the games lesson, the teacher’s good warm up, brisk pace and good focus on improving skills enabled all pupils to make good gains in their level of competence.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

134. The co-ordinator is newly appointed and has had little time to devote to the subject as yet. The school is using national guidelines satisfactorily to ensure that all aspects of the subject are covered and that pupils’ skills and competencies are developed in a progressive manner.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

135. During the inspection it was not possible to observe any teaching of pupils aged seven to eleven. Judgements for this age group are based on analysis of pupils’ work, discussions with the subject co-ordinator, and teachers’ planning.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

136. Attainment is in line with that described in the county’s agreed syllabus for religious education, both at age seven and at age eleven. There are no significant differences in attainment between boys and girls, or across the different levels of attainment found in the school. Over the course of their time in school, pupils’ achievement is satisfactory.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

137. By age seven, pupils know the main festivals of the Christian calendar. They are able to recount the Christmas story, for example. They know also of the main events in the life of Jesus. Pupils also develop a basic knowledge of other faiths and religions. Pupils in Year 1 know of the festival of Diwali and can tell of the story of Rama and Sita. Pupils are beginning to learn about moral principles attached to faiths and can recount some of the moral themes associated with the stories they hear. Pupils in Year 2 were doing interesting work based on the story of Pandora’s Box and were exploring what actions and behaviour they would place into their ‘good’ box and their ‘bad’ box. Higher attaining pupils in particular have opportunities to produce extended writing on the topics they have covered, and this makes a contribution to their literacy development.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

138. By age 11, pupils have developed a satisfactory factual knowledge of a number of religions. Pupils in Year 4, for example, can identify the religious symbols of the Sikh faith and they know something of the significance of the Kara, turban, and kirpan. In Year 5 this is extended into a deeper study into the lives of Guru Nanak and The Buddha and the beliefs they held. From these studies pupils begin to understand how faith affects the lives of people all over the world. Pupils also study a number of Christian stories such as those of the Prodigal Son and that of Zacchaeus. These lead them to look at rules in society and how they may vary with religion or in different times. The subject makes a good contribution to literacy development in this key stage, and pupils have good opportunities to extend their writing styles. This is evident, for example, in Year 6, where pupils write a ‘Letter to Adam and Eve’,

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

telling them about how the pupils see the world today.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

139. The quality of teaching, and the learning it promotes, is satisfactory across both key stages. Teachers have satisfactory subject knowledge of the religions that are covered by the county’s agreed syllabus. In classes, teachers produce a range of work that meets the differing needs of pupils of all abilities. Work is regularly marked and corrected. Relevant homework is set. Overall, teachers make satisfactory links with literacy by reading stories and by Hunsdon Primary School 42 encouraging pupils to write independently. Where this is consistently planned by individual teachers it is beneficial to all pupils, who have good opportunities to practise extended writing. Pupils take care over the presentation of their work and show good attitudes to the subject. In the one lesson observed during the inspection, the quality of teaching was good. The teacher exercised very good control and pupils responded with good behaviour and good attitudes to

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

work. The teacher used a range of teaching methods to maintain pupils’ interest. These included the idea of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ boxes for peoples’ behaviour, good discussions, and imaginative role-plays, as well as written and drawing tasks. This well planned and innovative lesson provided good interest and a level of moral teaching to encourage pupils to think about right and wrong.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

140. The religious education curriculum is satisfactory. It provides equality of opportunity for all pupils and meets statutory requirements. At the time of the last inspection there was no scheme of work available and a clear improvement has been made since then. The subject makes a good contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. In lessons there are opportunities for pupils to reflect on other religions and on moral issues. There is a strong moral dimension in lessons where pupils learn the principles of a range of religions as well as Christianity. Teachers provide very good role models and pupils are taught right from wrong in all lessons. Pupils have very good opportunities to develop their social skills through discussion in class and working together. There are satisfactory procedures in place to track pupils’ attainment and progress, following the methods outlined in the national

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

scheme of work, which is now used in conjunction with the county syllabus. However, there is little consistent use of the data to guide planning or to check for weaknesses in provision. The leadership and management of the subject are satisfactory. All issues raised in the previous report have been addressed. The subject has made satisfactory progress since the last inspection.

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